astir

Shiny skyscrapers loom on the horizon; their squat, worn building, home to their clan since 1902, marks a contrast, nestled within a crowded complex astir with chatter and dust.

News reporters were astir and skipped this curtain scene.

And Korie’s text, which often tips into rhyme, can tend risible: “A feeling I infer of anarchy astir.”

No need to cower behind a gate-post, indeed!—to peep up at chamber lattices, fearing life was astir behind them!

Soon the gardeners would be astir, brushing the first leaves from the lawns and the paths, raking the gravel in the drive.